scholarly journals Martínez v. State of New Mexico: The Right to a Sufficient Education

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
Diana Torres-Velásquez
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
New Mexico ◽  
Public Education ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Low Income ◽  
School Finance ◽  
English Language ◽  
District Court ◽  
Education Department

Plaintiffs in the Martínez v. State of New Mexico lawsuit are 51 students, parents, and guardians from seven public school districts across New Mexico. This is a school finance case that goes beyond seeking more funds for public education to arguing that providing a sufficient education for New Mexico’s 338,307 students enrolled during the 2016-2017 school year (New Mexico Public Education Department, 2017) involves more than increasing the amount of money allocated for pupils across its 89 school districts. Although the plaintiffs in this case represent low-income and high-need families of many ethnic backgrounds in New Mexico, students who are English Language Learners, and students with disabilities, the outcome has the potential to affect every student, teacher, and administrator in the state. The trial will begin on June 12th of 2017. When the case was originally filed in 2014, New Mexico’s Public Education Department (NMPED)—the defendants in this case—immediately countered with a motion to dismiss. In October of 2014, as First District Court Chief Judge Sarah Singleton rejected the motion to dismiss, she also used the opportunity to declare public education a fundamental right in New Mexico. Martínez v State of New Mexico (2014a) has the potential to transform not only the definition of equal protection and educational equity under the law, but also to correct the discriminatory and punitive practices of current reform agendas. The author examines the possibilities of law as a form of social resistance using Martínez v. State of New Mexico (2014a)—a legal case on school finance—and the concept of sufficient education as guaranteed by the New Mexico State Constitution.

The essence of ESSA: More control at the district level?

2019 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 14-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Kirk Edgerton
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
National Database ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
State Education ◽  
Every Student Succeeds Act

Using a national database of state education policies related to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), as well as data from surveys, interviews, and site visits, Adam Edgerton describes how ESSA has shifted relationships among state education agencies (SEAs) and school districts. Some states have not changed their policies much despite the flexibility afforded under the law, although some states have adjusted what measures are included in their accountability systems. States also expressed concern about how to meet requirements for English language learners and students with disabilities. Overall, SEAs are designing more targeted interventions for underperforming districts, and they are focusing on providing supports rather than punishments. But in this era of increased flexibility, it is possible for states to move from one extreme — punitive test-based accountability — to another — laissez-faire leadership.

scholarly journals Martínez v. State of New Mexico and Multicultural Education: Divide and Conquer? We Don’t Think So!

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 170
Author(s):  
E. Diane Torres-Velásquez ◽  
Christine E. Sleeter ◽  
Augustine F. Romero
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Native American ◽  
New Mexico ◽  
Public Education ◽  
Multicultural Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The State ◽  
Divide And Conquer ◽  
Education Act

Martínez v. State of New Mexico (2014) is a school finance and equity lawsuit built on the promises of the state constitution. The plaintiffs are 51 parents and their children across seven regions of the state (Torres-Velásquez, 2017). In its decision (Martínez, 2018), the Court determined that the state’s public education system was unconstitutional for not providing a sufficient education to the state’s “at-risk” students: students from economically disadvantaged homes, Native American students, English language learners, and students with disabilities. The Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on all 174 Martínez allegations and determined that legislators would create remedies and locate funding. From the earliest draft, the Martínez complaint maintained that the state was not following New Mexico’s Bilingual Multicultural Education Act (1973), Indian Education Act (2006) or Hispanic Education Act (2010). The plaintiffs wanted full implementation of these laws. A legislator asked, “If you had to pick one, bilingual education or multicultural education, which would you say is most important?” Both are central to student well-being and success. In order to address the question of priority—both being central to student success—we highlight core components of multicultural education for PreK-12 public education. We tie policy and practice recommendations back to the trial and to the Court decision and we suggest that a multicultural education curriculum is an integral part of a promising education for New Mexico’s students.

Moving from Professional Development to Real-Time Use

2014 ◽  
pp. 2043-2067
Author(s):  
Meghan Morris Deyoe ◽  
Dianna L. Newman ◽  
Kristie Asaro-Saddler
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
At Risk ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Literacy Instruction ◽  
English Language ◽  
Cognitive Learning ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Use Of Technology

This chapter demonstrates the importance of teacher training in the use of technology in literacy instruction by focusing on the need to update current teachers' skills and practice. In the setting described, the emphasis was on the transfer of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) strategies, learned via in-service professional development, to program classrooms supplied with twenty-first century technology in a high needs setting for at-risk students in grades 3-9. In addition to the general at-risk setting, specific literacy-related affective and cognitive learning outcomes are noted for students with disabilities and for English language learners. Program findings indicate the benefits of continuous professional development and embedded training along with embedded implementation of technology within pedagogical and content literacy instruction. Positive literacy-related cognitive results are noted for all students enrolled in the program classrooms; data for students with disabilities and English Language Learners (ELLs) also reveals potential benefits.

Inspiring Teacher Candidates to Embrace Cultural Diversity

2020 ◽  
pp. 120-139
Author(s):  
Judi Simmons Estes ◽  
Judith Lynne McConnell-Farmer
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Underserved Students

One of the challenges facing teachers in the United States is providing high-quality education for all students met in the classroom, including those who too often are underserved: students of color, low-income students, English-language learners, as well as students in urban and rural settings. Teachers report feeling unprepared and lack confidence in teaching students from culturally different backgrounds from themselves. This chapter suggests that in addition to becoming certified teachers, teacher candidates need to be inspired by teacher educators who are passionate about cultural learning and willing to share their own journey. Through sharing, teacher educators can provide practices that build cultural knowledge and increase cultural experiences of teacher candidates.

Inspiring Teacher Candidates to Embrace Cultural Diversity

2021 ◽  
pp. 879-898
Author(s):  
Judi Simmons Estes ◽  
Judith Lynne McConnell-Farmer
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Underserved Students

One of the challenges facing teachers in the United States is providing high-quality education for all students met in the classroom, including those who too often are underserved: students of color, low-income students, English-language learners, as well as students in urban and rural settings. Teachers report feeling unprepared and lack confidence in teaching students from culturally different backgrounds from themselves. This chapter suggests that in addition to becoming certified teachers, teacher candidates need to be inspired by teacher educators who are passionate about cultural learning and willing to share their own journey. Through sharing, teacher educators can provide practices that build cultural knowledge and increase cultural experiences of teacher candidates.

Preparing Pre-Service Teachers' Expectations and Resilience

2017 ◽  
pp. 24-47
Author(s):  
Christine Rosalia
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
English Language ◽  
Graduate Program ◽  
Responsive Teaching ◽  
Subway Train

The purpose of this study is to describe an ongoing service-learning project that brings pre-service teachers in an MA graduate program in Teaching English as a Second Language to tutor English language learners in a low-income urban high school. Excerpts from nine different teachers on sessions with the same learner offer snapshots of the learner's progress as he interacts with them. Impact on teacher expectations and demonstrated resilience working with this student is evaluated in concert with how well the project embodies the standards of service-learning as mutually beneficial practice. An analogy will be drawn between the behaviors of passengers in a stopped subway train and the varied ways teacher candidates and the project as a whole embodies culturally responsive teaching.

scholarly journals Teacher Implementation of College- and Career-Readiness Standards: Links Among Policy, Instruction, Challenges, and Resources

AERA Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 233285841880686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam K. Edgerton ◽  
Laura M. Desimone
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Career Readiness ◽  
College And Career Readiness ◽  
Rural Teachers ◽  
Math Teachers ◽  
College And Career ◽  
Content Coverage

Using state-representative teacher surveys in three states—Texas, Ohio, and Kentucky—we examine teachers’ implementation of college- and career-readiness (CCR) standards. What do teachers report about the specificity, authority, consistency, power, and stability of their standards environment? How does their policy environment predict standards-emphasized instruction? Do these relationships differ for those who teach different subjects (math and English Language Arts [ELA]), different grades (elementary or high school), different populations (English Language Learners [ELLs], students with disabilities [SWDs]), and in different areas (rural, urban, or suburban)? We found elementary math teachers taught significantly more standards-emphasized content than elementary ELA teachers, whereas secondary ELA teachers taught significantly more standards-emphasized content than secondary math teachers. Teachers of SWDs and rural teachers taught significantly less of the emphasized content. In all three states, we found greater buy-in (authority) predicted increased emphasized content coverage among ELA teachers but not among math teachers.

scholarly journals School Finance Reform and the Distribution of Student Achievement

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julien Lafortune ◽  
Jesse Rothstein ◽  
Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach
Keyword(s):  
School Districts ◽  
Low Income ◽  
School Finance ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
School Resources ◽  
Finance Reform ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
School Finance Reform ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Representative Samples

We study the impact of post-1990 school finance reforms, during the so-called “adequacy” era, on absolute and relative spending and achievement in low-income school districts. Using an event study research design that exploits the apparent randomness of reform timing, we show that reforms lead to sharp, immediate, and sustained increases in spending in low-income school districts. Using representative samples from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, we find that reforms cause increases in the achievement of students in these districts, phasing in gradually over the years following the reform. The implied effect of school resources on educational achievement is large. (JEL H75, I21, I22, I24, I28)

Contested Meanings of Equality: The Unrealized Promise of the Antidiscrimination Principle and the Uncertain Future of a Right to Education

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel F. Moran
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
School Finance ◽  
English Language ◽  
Educational Opportunity ◽  
Equal Educational Opportunity ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
School Finance Litigation ◽  
The Government ◽  
Uncertain Future

Many people take for granted that the antidiscrimination principle and an equality norm are one and the same. In fact, there are significant differences that should not be overlooked. Education law offers unique insights into the distinctions because school desegregation cases both concretized demands to be free of discrimination and cultivated aspirations to be equal. In the years since 1954, when the U.S. Supreme Court declared that racially separate schools are inherently unequal in Brown v. Board of Education, the antidiscrimination principle has evolved into a requirement that the government be colorblind; that is, public officials must refrain from all consideration of race in their decision-making. A colorblindness requirement can have perverse consequences for equality. Most notably, local school districts today cannot weigh race in making student assignments to promote voluntary integration. Faced with constraints like these, reformers have sought to capitalize on an antidiscrimination principle without sacrificing their goals for equality. For example, federal civil rights statutes designed to protect children with disabilities and English language learners mandate meaningful access to the curriculum as well as protection from discrimination. In school finance litigation, advocates have moved even further away from an antidiscrimination focus. They have demanded recognition of a right to education, an interest that acknowledges every child’s right to flourish. New strategies that push beyond the antidiscrimination principle to promote equal educational opportunity have not been uniformly successful, but they can deepen our understanding of a fair and inclusive educational system.

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